BEVERLY, Mass. — Over 1,400 public school teachers here and in the nearby towns of Gloucester and Marblehead on the North Shore are in their second week of strikes. Members of the Beverly Teachers Association and Union of Gloucester Educators went on strike Nov. 8, and Marblehead Education Association teachers on Nov. 12.
The three unions share common issues — higher pay, especially for paraprofessionals, more parental leave and hiring more support staff. They had been working under contracts that expired Aug. 31.
Teachers in Newton, west of Boston, set an example by winning solid gains on similar issues when they went on strike for 15 days last January. They won a pay increase of 13% over four years, pay hikes for classroom aides and 40 days of fully paid family leave.
Currently the starting pay for teachers’ aides and other paraprofessionals is around $20,000, which isn’t enough to live on in this area. Most are forced to work two jobs to get by. Strikers are determined to win significant increases in their pay.
In Massachusetts it is illegal for teachers to strike. Area judges have levied $50,000-a-day fines on the striking unions, which go up by another $10,000 each day. The total fines levied against each of the three unions was over $300,000 as of Nov. 20.
The Newton Teachers Association is calling for teachers there to donate to the North Shore teachers strike funds. In the NTA’s strike last winter they were hit with a total of $625,000 in fines.
The association explains in their e-newsletter the heavy financial burden these penalties have on the smaller number of union members in the North Shore.
Newton teachers organized a protest at the school’s committee meeting Oct. 21, because it refused to honor the new contract to hire aides for every kindergarten class. “You have the right to appeal this,” NTA President Mike Zilles told them, “but the reality is you agreed to do this anyway. So put them in the room.”
Teachers hit with fines, strike wins solidarity
Strikers here have pointed out that the school committees face no consequences for not bargaining in good faith, yet the teachers, who are fighting for better conditions in the classroom and care deeply about the students, are hit with huge penalties.
There was a sizable spirited picket line at the Beverly Middle School Nov. 19 when Militant worker-correspondents visited to bring solidarity and get the workers’ story for the paper. Teachers were wearing red union shirts. Drivers honked continually in support as they drove by. A large contingent from the three unions rallied at the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston the same day to put pressure on lawmakers.
Lydia Ames, an eighth grade Spanish teacher, told us that 99% of the 650 union members in Beverly had voted to strike. “The school committee said there’s no money. But we’re very united in this fight. There’s great community support. We’re doing what we have to do for students and for the profession.”
Conditions in the schools have eroded over time, she said, hurting both teachers and students. Due to staff shortages, recess is often reduced to 15 minutes — for 12-14 year olds! — and prep time for teachers has been cut. Aides are often pulled away from their duties to replace an absent teacher, leaving vulnerable students with extra needs getting less attention.
Beverly has seen a large increase in population in the last 20 years, but school budgets haven’t kept up.
Brian Bayer-Larson, an eighth grade civics teacher at Beverly Middle School, said being on strike “is a bit of a roller coaster. There’s great solidarity and camaraderie, but at the same time I’m sad and frustrated because I want to be in school. When I’m at home I can get bummed out, but when I’m on the picket line, I get picked up again.”
He showed us a picture he took of a large Teamsters Local 25 truck with a union banner on the side that drove around Beverly the day before to support the strikers. The same day a 1,000-strong parent-organized solidarity march took place here.
“In the long run, this needs to happen to be able to support the most vulnerable kids. There’s not enough help in the classroom,” he said. The salaries of the paraprofessionals “is what I care most about. We need justice around this.” When Bayer-Larson’s back in the classroom he’ll be talking about the strike with his students. “It will be a good addition to civics class.”
Show your support for their strike! Join their picket lines. Contact the union locals to find out how to get involved.